Tony Hawk Foundation

The Boards + Bands fundraising initiative merges the worlds of action sports and music to benefit the work of the Tony Hawk Foundation. Tony Hawk invited a select group of professional athletes to donate their personally ridden boards and submit the names of their favorite songs. Ben Harper then sent those boards on to the appropriate artists with one simple message: “Please write the lyrics to this skater’s favorite song on his skateboard, and we’ll use it to create more skateparks for kids.”

Funds raised through this effort will support at-risk youth through the creation of public skateparks in low-income communities across the U.S. These free, public skateparks are safe, sanctioned places for youth to come together, form communities, and practice the sport they love in a healthy environment. Funds from Boards + Bands will also support skateboarding programming Internationally.